Red elm and cherry bow

[Black Mockingbird]

And no one asked you to come here and call someone an idiot like a third grader...if you don't make bows and no nothing about such ...then..keep your lips shut...ever hear of constructive criticism? Its just a helpful "hey,be more wise in your selection of backing material" ...because that has a high probablity of breaking and hurting the op...but since you dont make bows and dont know of such things i guess you wouldnt understand....And I'd never sell you a bow cus I don't sell my bows. And bows aren't about looks..its how they shoot      read all the other experienced guys comments saying the same thing as I...why single me out?

PS...you can respond to my comment,but i won't respond back again to third grade nonsense...

[petalumapete]

Yea I've had enough of this to.

[twitchstick]

Very nice!

[Mike Mecredy]

I was going to avoid this one, since I'm a Bowyer/mechanic/musician/philosopher/biker...and occasionally a preacher and not Dr. Phil.  But this whole thing turned ugly simply because of one negative statement.  Black mockingbird, if you would have ended that first post with "do you have full draw pics?"  This whole thing may have been different.  The reason I'll point that out is simply because I'm thinking you'll handle that assessment about your verb age a lot better than if the statement would have been on your artistic expression.  Those that put the effort into making  boards or staves into a functional weapon, taking the time to take pics, post on photobucket, then paste on here, can get a little "thin skinned" and for good reason.

A good Way to avoid making this forum hostile like the LW, would be to send a private message if you have things to say.  That cuts down on the public embarrassment that come with name calling.  

There are no idiots here, this is the bowyer's bench, that means we're all intelligent.  And no I'm not a mod on this board, but do read it daily and admire people's work and see if there's a question I can help with and this isn't stuff I like to read.  

Ain't nobody got time for that.

[vanillabear?]

[paoliguy]

Black Mockingbird mentioned hickory as a backing choice for cherry. I have a really nicely grained cherry board and was debating a hickory, elm, or maple backing.

Do you think hickory / cherry is the better combination?

BTW, I'm pretty new at this and "forgiving" combinations are a plus!

[PEARL DRUMS]

Well said Scott. Asked for or not, I would have mentioned the grain myself. Nothing cute about blindness or a concussion. Grain run off doesnt get much worse. As far as the full draw comment,I see a wink face at the end of that statement on my end. That tells me he was being a smarty in a funny way. Relax, its Friday guys.

[LittleBen]

I agree the backing strip is not ideal. That is an important comment to make to a new bowyer.

The thing I think is important to note is that it's very difficult to convey to the reader sincerity vs sarcasm etc. through text. Although some of us are experienced bowyers, none as far as I know are professional writers.
So two things: First lets all make an effort to make our comments constructive, but as polite as possible. Second lets all give the benefit of the doubt that all comments are intended to be constructive even if not worded in the most elegant manner.

Agreed? Like PD said, lets all just relax .... It's Friday and another bow making weekend is nearly upon us all.

[LittleBen]

One other thing. I made a bow recently with a less than ideal backing strip of hickory. Actually Pearl Drums told me he thought it was a lost cause, and I didn;t listen. Finished it up anyway. It shot GREAT!!!! for like 400 shots, then lifted a splinter, which i repaired. Got another maybe 100 shots and it detonated in my hands on the 3D course.

It was a wakeup call. at only 37#, there was still alot of energy released there and it was loud.

My only point is just continue to keep an eye on it as you continue to shoot it. I will say though I love the look of the elm backing.

[Frosty the Bowman]

BlackMocking Bird,

Sorry, I appologize, as I was not trying to or intending to "Bash" anyone, or act like a third grader and name call.

I just thought it possibly would have been better perhaps if you had sent the crticisim and suggestions privatly, thats all. I was just baseing it off how i would handle such a thing.

I do thank anyone who offers good honest advice, and shares thier experience with others like myself who are experince lacking, otherwise it would sure be a really steep, long and slow learning curve indded.

So I appologize, I should have taken my own advice and contacted you privatly to ask your intentions about your comments before posting as I did, sorry. I did not notice the smiliy face at the end, sorry, my bad, half blind you know
I can be a bit of a knuckele head sometimes, (like this)       .

I do fully agree that helping to protect someone from a potentail bow explosion is pretty dang important advice. I am not as experienced as you and did not obviously see all the problems you experienced guys did see, about all i saw was some grain run off, but Iam still just a dumb newbie.

So again, sorry, i have nothing against you, and i have seen your skill, you are very talented, and I would count myself fortunate to have you offer advice when ever I do build a bow.

[Roy from Pa]

I'm glad I'm not a smarty pants, potty mouth like ole black birdie...              

See ya Sunday Chris.... LOL

[Bowjunkie]

That's the other thing... us Pa guys are a bunch of smart @$$es... we jack each other, joke around, laugh when someone breaks a bow, walk up behind a newby and break a scrap piece of wood when he hits full draw for the first time with his new bow... LOL

So, its not easy to shut that off completely here for you sensitive types  

[Roy from Pa]

walk up behind a newby and break a scrap piece of wood when he hits full draw for the first time with his new bow...  

LMAO Jeff, I quit doing that trick. I did that to Randy on his third bow attempt and he about crapped his pants, then 5 minutes later the Boo blew up a splinter.. I felt so dumb:)

[Black Mockingbird]

  no hard feelings here

[takefive]

mockingbird:  First off, those are some terrific looking bows you've built, but I'm sure that I'm not telling you anything you don't already know.  You already know that I'm new to bow making and maybe my decision to use that piece of elm for the backer was a dumb rookie mistake.  I'm still learning and I will find out.  If it splinters or breaks it's no skin off your nose, but maybe literally off mine and if that happens it will be my problem and not yours.  Worst case is that I have to make another one and I enjoy doing that anyway.  Believe me, if I thought your post was written as constructive criticism, I would have thanked you for the advice.  I'm new to this forum, but I don't remember ever reading a post where someone was called out on the bow he posted and dared to show it at full draw.  Pretty sure that would hit a nerve with anyone.  Yeah, maybe I'm just thin skinned, but if you knew me, I doubt it.  I don't care anyway.
If I would have know that a couple of pictures of what I think is a cool wood combination would have turned into this clusterf@#% I wouldn't have posted to begin with.  I just wanted a chance to respond and probably will delete this whole mess if it's possible.
Hope everyone enjoys the weekend.  I know I will.

[Bowjunkie]

I got jacked a few times for not providing full draw pics.... didn't hit a nerve with me etall. I thought it was funny that it bothered them and then purposefully continued to withhold the pics just to torment them  

[Black Mockingbird]

Thanks for wanting to discuss this in a more civil manner...the only reason I asked for a full draw was because the most important detail to a natural materials bow is the tiller...the tiller will make or break a bow,and its what makes it a bow IMHO ...plenty of people ask for a full draw pic with natural material bows,and it is a very common practice to do so...so I wasn't calling you out or daring you as you perceived it..I just wanted to see the bow "bow" because I love seeing wood bend,and its the most important aspect of a natural materials bow,and you must've missed my winky smile at the end of my phrase    ...

[takefive]

Aww man, don't tell me this whole mess is on me because I took the winky smile the wrong way       Now I really wish I wouldn't have posted to begin with.  Sorry for causing any ill will among you guys and I am way past ready to bury this subject and then bury the shovel.  Hope you are good with that Mockingbird and as much as I hate to admit it, I'm thinking about grinding that backer off and replacing it with a better one.  Still gotta be elm, though    :rolleyes:
If anyone wants this whole post deleted just let me know.  I'll do it gladly if I can figure out how.

[kennym]

Good job fellers, gotta be careful when you look at a winkie.

Hard to tell how its meant on a keyboard.

In person , a lil sly grin you can catch, but on the computer, you just can't tell.

[DVSHUNTER]

I watched this whole thing go down and I'm glad it took this turn of events. Sure mockingbird is a jerk. He posted mean on my thread to. I'd probably rub my beard in his eye if I saw him. I'm pretty sure he buys his bows and then claims em as his own anyway so I don't let it bother me. Notice the lack of smileys in my post. Lol.
Having said that, congrats on your bow. He is right about the grain and that's something you will learn or most likely probably have.  There is something to be said though about building a bow that should blow and doesn't. I have one called doa as in dead on arrival that o was told should never make it. It is still shooting today. However, now I know that it probably wasn't the best piece to use and have made adjustments. Again congrats on your bow and also congrats on the new information you have for the next one. Mocking bird is a jerk we all know, bit he is usually right. And now for a smileys to kelp it all civil.:-) that means I'm joking Chris.